TENNIS in DEPTH.

The reason for Adam Scott’s notoriety in the social pages of late has been due to his relationship with Serbian tennis star Ana Ivanovic, something heightened by his court-side appearance at Wimbledon.

With Scott struggling and his world ranking plummeting from a career high No. 3 to its current No. 62, the inevitable assumption was that his relationship had been a distraction. Or, as high profile commentator Jack Newton suggested, that Scott’s ”head was not in the right place”.

However, while Scott said he paid no heed to the speculation – partly because he had not been home since March – he was adamant his relationship with Ivanovic, who is with him in Melbourne this week, had played no part in a form slump during which he twice felt like taking a long break from the game.

”I don’t know how to respond to that,” Scott said. ”Should I not have a girlfriend?

But Scott says his relationship with a fellow athlete who also travels widely did not prompt any tinkering with his schedule or reduce his practice time. ”We do what we can, but it’s no different than any other relationship that I’ve been in,” said Scott. ”I’ve never had someone travel with me so we see each other when we can. I heard it reported that I’d gone to Wimbledon instead of playing Tiger’s event, but I was never playing his event. It’s just false-reporting.’

When asked about Ivanovic, Scott smiles. “She’s really lovely and a great girl. It’s been going very well,” he says. “She’s based in Europe and, at some point between our two tours, we manage to see each other.”

The couple met through their mutual sponsor, Rolex, late last year, when Ivanovic was in Queensland preparing for the Brisbane tournament, and have been together – or as together as nomadic professional athletes can be – ever since.

“It’s good to have some other things come from the relationship [with Rolex] other than nice watches,” Scott says with a laugh.

The relationship puts paid to the recent playboy rumours about Scott and the gossip that had him briefly dating actor Kate Hudson in January. Scott says they’re “just friends”.

Dating a fellow elite athlete, however, “absolutely” makes things easier. “There’s
a huge level of understanding,” Scott says.

“You understand what each other goes through. Our performances this year weren’t so good, so we need to figure things out a little bit more.”

Perhaps spending more time together?
“Maybe that’s the trick.”

After that, they had a holiday in New York and then Ivanovic was in Singapore when Scott returned to form and threw the monkey off his back to earn a $187,000 payday on November 1.

“She’ll be in Australia for most of the time I’m here this summer,” he says.

“That might be the real test – if she can put up with me.”

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• An update from Ana Ivanovic…..
• Maybe Herr Gunthardt will turn out to be a ‘miracle’ worker!
• Ivanovic will replace Serena in the MSG fiasco!

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